Six months later, Evening Day 6, The Sect Master’s Island:

“Please, master,” Yu pled. “Only a day. That’s it.”

“My answer has not changed,” her master said while staring down at her. “You haven’t met my requirements, so the answer is no.”

“How am I supposed to be able to step all the way to your island? It’s like two-and-a-half li up!” Yu was sick of trying to explain how impossible her master’s task had been. There was no way she had access to enough Qi to step even two li. The most she could currently step was a bit beyond half that.

It wasn’t like her failure was from lack of effort. She had been practicing hard. She just did not have the power. Yu was still physically limited to opening a meridian once every nine days, although they both believed it could be eight very soon given how much stronger her body had grown. As if to prove her effort, the prior evening she had cleansed her twenty-eighth, which meant her spirit allowed her to use more than fourteen times the Qi she had when she had first learned how to step. But it was nowhere near enough to get from her room in the dorms to his island.

And that was the requirement he had laid out for her to assist in her going home. All she wanted was to make a quick trip to meet her new baby brother. Her master could step her there in the morning and step her back in the evening. He obviously had the power as he had taken her much farther when they had visited the Long estate for her evaluation all those months ago. But he refused.

“I only want to see my new little brother. It’s such a short time. Please, master?” she tried pleading one more time.

He sighed and rubbed the ridge of his nose. “I gave you my expectations and you failed to meet them. I despair at both your ineptitude and arrogance. You have been my student for nearly nine months and yet you still failed. I begin to wonder if you are even trying. Moreover, no other outer sect disciple is allowed to leave the sect at all, so count yourself fortunate I even offered the opportunity. Do you think you are the only outer disciple here who has family born or die while attending? You aren’t special that you get to break the rules at your whim.”

Yu lowered her head, gritted her teeth, and clenched her hands into fists. She ignored the first of his critcisms because they both knew she had been working beyond hard. As for the second comment, logically, she knew he was right. Of course she wasn’t so special that she could flaunt the rules. She just really wanted to meet her baby brother. Fenghuang Duyi was his name and he was apparently a healthy and quite large little boy. According to the letter his parents had sent, he had been born two weeks ago and was constantly crying, despite her uncle Gen affirming that he was completely normal and healthy. They had told her that some babies were just like that, which gave her comfort. And she really really wanted to see him.

Lei had warned her, as had all of her friends, not to get her hopes up. But it wasn’t in Yu to just give up. So she had stretched herself and pushed to reach her master’s island in a single step.

She had failed. Spectacularly. The farthest she had gotten was halfway with a single step. Which meant she had had to create a void under her as she was falling to her death. She had managed to land on the bed in her chambers on the island, but her master had flatly refused to accept it.

“Two steps are not one step,” he had said to her. “You failed. It was an excellent practice in creating voids quickly and under pressure though. Thank you for the idea. But it was a sloppy and wasteful void. Here, practice until you get it right.”

Then he had promptly stepped her straight out in the middle of the air once again. That had turned into a new routine where Yu would randomly find herself falling from great heights, or from over the volcano, or from some random place in the world. She would basically constantly have to create voids that led to higher up so she could fall and create another that did the same thing again. He would only retrieve her when she either ran out of Qi or created what he considered an “acceptably clean” void.

Sadistic as the training was, Yu was forced to admit that it had actually worked. After weeks of that kind of practice, the voids Yu could create when not under the pressure of dying a horribly painful death were just about perfect. She created them almost instantly and there was no waver nor waste in them at all. Even when she moved a full li in distance, the void was stable and hidden from everyone besides those with much stronger cultivation and Spatial Affinity, or just a Spatial Affinity stronger than hers, which had been her master’s measure of success.

Of course, she was still a long way from compressing her Qi, which meant she could not move anyone besides herself. Nor could she move the void once it was created. But that was years away. Right now, the reality was, she had failed. And because she had failed, she wouldn’t be able to meet her baby brother until she succeeded.

Because Qi requirement growth was not linear, she had to do some mental math to figure out how many meridians she would need to step two li. It her estimations were right, it was somewhere between her sixty-fifth and seventy-fifth week at the sect, or fiftieth and sixtieth meridian. That math changed if and when she could do it every eight days rather than nine, but until then she was planning under her current constraints. Plus, there were also days she should not cleanse due to it falling on a mission day that happened to run late into the evening.

“Enough,” he declared with a wave of his hand. “This topic is closed until you succeed. Understood?”

“Yes, master,” Yu said frustratingly and through gritted teeth.

“Now, get up. We need to move onto things that matter. How are your formation channels?”

He was, of course, speaking of the strange formation channels her Qi cycling technique had created in the Foundation Building Stage.

“The same, master. The pills stopped expanding them since three weeks ago, like I reported. But they still cause of rush of Qi to enter the center of the formation. Results of that remain unknown.” Then she thought for a moment and said hesitantly, “Well, there is something, but I’m not entirely sure about it.”

“Tell me,” he ordered.

“Ever since they stopped expanding the channels, I thought I might have felt something, but I wasn’t positive. The last two times I was more focused and I’m more confident, but not absolutely positive.” He nodded, encouraging her to tell him. “Well, you know I have enhanced senses. But after I take the pill now, they seem to go a bit… extreme while the energy is being processed.” His eye ridges rose at that, but she went on. “It doesn’t last though. As soon as the energy is absorbed, everything goes back to normal. But I guess it could mean something?”

He rubbed his chin. “Hmmm. Possibly temporary or not then. It is a shame we do not know whether they are helping for sure. At least we could determine whether they were worth the excessive expense.”

Yu mentally rolled her eyes. All she had heard from him about those for months was how outrageously expensive they were. Well, as far as she was concerned, he could feel free to stop giving them to her and save the coin. She was perfectly satisfied never finding out what the formation in her chest did.

I just know it’s going to blow up. Take a pill one day and next thing you know, fried Yu everywhere…

“It was inevitable that the channel expansion would cease eventually,” he said, still pensive. “Things can only be stretched so far. How does it compare?”

Yu shrugged. “I’d say somewhere around thirty times the Qi flow from when I arrived at the sect. It’s a little hard to judge.” Then she added with some hope, “I’m happy to stop tak–”

“No,” he interrupted. “We’ll continue for now.” Yu slumped her shoulders. “How have your lessons been with your bond? The reports I have been getting are that your teamwork is adequate.”

That was a question that cheered her up quickly. Bai had grown a lot. His shoulder was up to her waist and the two of them had been excelling in class. Bai’s discipline, while not the best in the group as he was a bit independent-minded, was still much better. Even the other Ether-bonded pair were just slightly behind her and Bai. He was still only a low grade 2, but, according to Elder Ruo, he was really strong for a low grade 2. Her master did not seem surprised when Yu had reported it, but she was pleased nonetheless.

“I think it’s good, master. We’re limited because he can’t grow any faster than me, but within our limitations, we make a good team. Our coordination and communication are some of the best in the class.”

He frowned down at Yu. “That’s it? Some of the best? Why aren’t you on the obsticle courses yet? That is barely acceptable. You should be hunting together already. You need to grow stronger… both of you.”

“Yes, master,” was her only reply. He just never stopped harping on that.

Get stronger, get stronger. Hurry up and get stronger. What does he think I’ve been doing for the last nine months, sitting around watching rice steam?

“Time is running short,” he said, glaring at her.

“Time is short for what?” she asked, frustrated. “You never tell me anything. Just grow, grow, grow. Why can’t you tell me? Why is it such a rush? What is it that’s so urgent?” She would have been hesitant to express such emotion to her first teacher, Grandma Huan. But her current master had never said anything against her backtalk. He didn’t seem to care one way or the other. He simply ignored it and told her to grow.

This time, however, he looked at her strangely rather than simply telling her to grow. He rubbed his chin and his eyes flashed with an emotion she had become familiar with – hunger. Every once in a while, he would slip and look at her like she was some sort of… well she didn’t actually know how to describe it. It was creepy, but not in a gross sexual way. More a… envious wasn’t right. It wasn’t that he wanted what she had, but that he wanted what she was. It was a very strange look.

“Tell me,” he finally responded. “What do you know of spirit realms?”

Surprised at the question that seemed to come from nowhere, Yu couldn’t respond. Then she shook herself out of it and tried to recall if she had heard the term before. She flipped through her memories, trying to recall if she had heard or read about something called “spirit realms.” It took her quite a while, but no matter how far back she ran her memory, she couldn’t come up with anything more than a single off-hand mention in a book she had read.

“Almost nothing, master. I do recall the term being referenced in a book I read as a child. It was more a fable than a history though.” Then she recited the words she recalled. “And the boy, pulled by temptation, ran away and through the blurry window and fell into a spirit realm, never to be seen again.”

“Utterly useless. I’m constantly amazed by how little you vergers are taught about the world.” Then they appeared in his tearoom and he gestured for her to sit.

Yu was used to being moved about by now so she barely noticed anymore. His rude comments were also something she had gotten used to. He often expressed distress at her “verger education” and whatnot. As far as she was concerned, he could feel however he wanted. She didn’t agree, but that was equally irrelevant.

“As a Spatial Affinity wielder, you might find it easier to understand than most. A spirit realm is the term we use for a special kind of dimensional pocket.”

“Like a spatial storage ring?” Yu asked.

He nodded to her as he poured them tea. “Yes. And like the one you will create on your own eventually. If you ever manage to get strong enough not to waste the opportunity.” Once again Yu mentally rolled her eyes, but she actually agreed. She had a very high affinity for the spatial part of the Spatial Affinity, which meant the first capability, creating a ringless spatial pocket, was something she would excel at. Because of that, they had decided to wait until she compressed her Qi before creating it, hoping for an especially large pocket of her own.

He continued, “Those are what we call static pockets. They are still and unmoving, thus what is in them is frozen in time and space. They are changeless and are very solid and dependable because of that. Spirit realms are what we call fluid pockets. Meaning they are not still. They move and flow and react. This tends to make them less stable. But most importantly, they can support life inside of them.”

Yu gaped. “A spatial pocket that supports life?”

He nodded. “Indeed. Nobody is quite clear how they come about. Some argue they are made by humans, others by unstable fractures in the space and time of our world. Our clan has been studying them for generations and still have not come to a consensus. Either way, spirit realms are occasionally found throughout the world. Because of their fluidity, each of them is unique. Some are dead desert worlds, some are lush forests. Some are as large as a world itself and some are as small as a city. Their variety is as great as their unpredictability.” He took a sip of his tea, giving Yu a moment to think of what he was describing. She was fascinated by the idea of a world inside of a world. She wondered what it would be like inside of one. One day, she thought, perhaps she would explore one herself.

Her master continued, “All spirit realms have a few laws that are consistent, no matter the kind, age, or contents of the pocket. Keep in mind, these things are always true. First, they can only be entered through a single tear, or void as you have come to know it. Second, because they are fluid, they are not permanent. Eventually they will destabilize. How long depends on many factors such as their size, the variety of life inside, and how much interference is forced within them.”

Yu was confused by that word. “Interference?”

“Yes. Cultivators enter and do things inside. They kill beasts, pick plants, dig caves, cultivate, and such. They interfere with the stability of the pocket. The more they do that, the more unstable it will become. And that leads to the third law that has been true with every spirit realm we have found. They are all absolutely flooded with Qi.”

“Oh,” Yu said, even more interested now. “So all the plants and animals will be stronger, but also offer more benefit.”

“Correct. What have you been taught about compressing your Qi?”

Once again surprised at the subject change, Yu said, “Little more than what is common, I think. I won’t be taking a class on advancing cultivation for years.”

He sighed at her answer. “I suppose there is nothing for it then. When one compresses their Qi, they are attempting to quite literally compress it from a gas into a liquid. This is what the entire Consolidation Stage of cultivation is about. Compressing Qi, especially the first time, is an incredibly Qi-heavy act. It can take days or weeks or even months to compress the first drop of liquid Qi, depending on the environmental Qi available. And the amount of Qi required scales with the number of meridians, which for cultivators such as yourself can be a problem. Thankfully for them, most cultivators with a high number of meridians tend to be quite well off financially, which is useful because many pay substantial fees to have help with their breakthroughs. The most common method is alchemy. They imbibe what are call Condensation Elixirs, which do what their name implies: they provide support in condensing Qi. The negative of this method is the cost. The purest of elixirs can cost more than a hundred thousand silver for a single dose, and they can only support compression for about twenty meridians. And those are the best currently available.”

Yu’s new her face showed her shock at the extravagance of using such a method of breakthrough.

“The second method,” he continued with a smirk, “is to rent a special formation which does basically the same thing. Renting time in one of those is even more expensive than the pills because they are rarer yet more effective. But again, the number of meridians defines the time needed in the formation, which increases cost. Now, think about why I am telling you this.”

Yu thought about it and in just a few breaths figured it out. “Because compressing Qi inside of a spirit realm, which is so Qi-saturated, would mean cultivators won’t need those things?”

“Indeed,” he confirmed with a nod. “But just to be clear, those two methods, no matter their cost, would be like a single snowflake to the blizzard of a spirit realm.” Yu nodded, thinking how much of an advantage it would be for any cultivator. But she still wasn’t sure why he was mentioning it to her. She was obviously too weak for anything like that.

As usual, he answered her question before she asked. “So, why am I bringing this up? Before I answer that, I will add one more piece of information about the durability of spirit realms. Because their stability is dependent on interference, their fluidity offers the realms the ability to actually hold a measure of self-control.”

Yu could feel her eyes widen again. “Like it’s alive?”

He waffled slightly as he answered. “Not in the way you are thinking. Spirit realms do tend to react to interference, but mostly in subtle ways that make us believe it is not sentient any more than a plant is sentient. A flower leans towards the sunlight or opens and closes its petals based upon the time of day, for example. The spirit realm is not capable of strong immediate reaction against external forces any more than a normal flower can stop from being cut or picked. That said, we have observed that they do tend to have a great deal of control over their entry void, which appears and disappears for unknown reasons. So if the spirit realm detects a certain level of instability and it’s entry void is open, it will alter that void to prevent entry from things that will cause too much further instability. Now think about what that means.”

Firstly, Yu had to accept the idea that a dimensional pocket was, at least partially, aware. That entire concept was kind of mindboggling. But assuming that was true and it attempted to “react” to interference… “Wouldn’t it try to stop the type of people from entering that would cause a lot of instability?” she asked out loud.

“And who would that be?” he asked, leading her to the answer.

“Cultivators with more Qi? The stronger the cultivator, the more Qi they have and use, thus the more instability?”

“Correct. Now back to why I bring this up. To get to the point, a spirit realm void has been found at the edge of what the Gui Empire considers its own borders.”

Yu was silent at that declaration. She really didn’t know what to say. The news had come out of nowhere. She had been living a relatively consistent life at the sect for the last six to eight months. Outside of the normal underhanded battles she had been having with the Bao and a few of the other central imperial nobles, nothing had materially changed in that time. And now suddenly, this news was dropped on her.

“I can tell by both your face and your silence that you are full of questions, but they all revolved around wondering what it means for you. The answer is… nothing – at least for now. As I said, the void was found near the border. Well, that particular area happens to border two other empires and they also wish to claim it. I won’t bother with the details for now, but just know that one of them we have a cordial trading relationship with and only occasionally battle for land or resources. They and we consider each other as something of a whetstone to strengthen our armies and cultivators with. The other, however, is quite aggressive and we are generally antagonistic towards each other.”

“Will there be a war over the spirit realm?” Yu asked. That immediately lead her to wonder if her father would be called back into the army. He was a famous general but had retired to the life of a city lord on the verge. She hoped he wouldn’t be called up.

Yu was relieved when he shook his head. “I strongly doubt it, which I will explain in a moment. Most likely, all three empires will spend the next year or more negotiating over access while it stabilized and is studied. As the Long clan has a strong presence in all three empires, and it is something of our area of expertise, we were brought in to offer an assessment. The results as of now show that the realm is old and fading but has a high concentration of Qi inside. While this is quite disappointing to the old men and women who had hoped for opportunities to advance, it is quite an amazing opportunity for the young.” Then he leaned forward and looked directly in her eyes. “Specifically, the void is blocking entry to anyone who has compressed their Qi.”

Yu leaned back and thought about that revelation. After processing it for a bit, she asked a question. “How long do they think the void will be stable enough to allow entry?”

Her master smiled at her, clearly pleased with her question. “Once entry and exit begins, likely three or four years at most. The fact that it is weak is why nobody will bother fighting a war over it. Wars last decades, and it will almost certainly lose cohesion before a winner is decided. Thus, the negotiations are for each empire to send their most promising youths still in the Meridian Formation Stage. All they need to do is work out the details. Things like the maximum number from each empire, when it will happen, how it will be done, what can be brought in, and the like.”

“I see. And will I be allowed entry?” Yu asked, getting right to the point.

“So, you are interested?” he asked.

Yu nodded firmly. “Absolutely! It’s too good of an opportunity to pass up.”

“Good,” he answered with his own single nod. “In answer to your question, your ability to enter depends on a few factors. First, how long the stabilization and negotiations take. If they are complete before a year, almost certainly not. You will still be too weak.”

“Not that I’m not glad, but isn’t a year or more just to negotiate kind of a long time?” Yu asked.

“You have to remember that cultivators, especially old powerful ones, don’t measure time the way youth do. A year to them probably feels too short of a time to really negotiate effectively. To them they are rushing.”

“I see. I hadn’t thought of it that way. I guess that helps in this case. I hope they take a long time then.”

“It does help you, yes. Especially since each empire will only send its strongest, which probably means at least eighty-five maybe up to one hundred open meridians. I wouldn’t be surprised if those who are ready to make their breakthrough decide not to just so they can enter. At the rate you are going, you won’t reach a sufficient number of meridians for another year-and-a-half.”

Yu winced. “That’s not really something I can solve for beyond hopefully moving to opening a meridian every eight days as soon as it’s safe.” Not sure what she could do beyond that, she asked, “What else should I know?”

“Given that it is quite unstable, at this time we believe no spatial pockets will be able to pass through the entry void without being destroyed. Thus, nobody will be allowed to wear spatial rings for storage.”

“Wow,” Yu said, looking down at her hand rubbing the ring on her finger. She hadn’t been separated from her spatial ring for more than few minutes at a time since she received it years ago. Looking up, she asked, “So how will everyone carry out Qi plants and beast parts and the like? It’ll all go bad.”

Her master had a strange grin. “Ah, yes. Well, everyone will be stuck using more mundane methods. Bags, jars, boxes and the like. And, of course, good planning. We do believe preservation jade containers will work, but cannot be sure. We’ll know more with further study.” Yu nodded at that. She had been using such jade containers since her first mission day. “No doubt, your training in wilderness survival will assist you, should you be able to enter. Others will likely receive similar training. At least, if they aren’t utter fools, which I suppose is possible. However, put all that aside for a moment and think through what we have discussed in regards to why you might go there. Really think about it. And then think about what you might do to… help.”

Yu blinked at her master across the tea table.

Think about why I might go… Well, clearly he means to grow strong. But that’s too broad, otherwise he wouldn’t be pushing me to answer the question. I’d go into the spirit realm because it has… lots of Qi plants and animals? Maybe some really rare ones to help me advance? Yu shook her head. I don’t think that’s what he means. Too obvious. Why go to the realm itself…?

After a few breaths she spoke trying to work through it out loud. “I’d go because it has so much Qi. And because it has so much Qi, I can use that to compress my Qi after I cleanse all my meridians.” He kept looking at her, not saying a word. “And once I compress my Qi, I can…” and she figured it out. “I can create my own spatial pocket!” she said excitedly.

He nodded to her. “Indeed. Effectively, you will be the only cultivator, unless our clan sends another, that could possibly have a static spatial pocket to store your finds.”

Yu knew her smile was huge. “I hadn’t thought of that. Thank you, master!”

He waved it off. “In the end, this is up to you and your ability to grow. You will need to be in there for years to cleanse all of your meridians, even if it takes as many as two years for the negotiations to complete and for you to gain access.”

Yu’s smile fell as she realized something. “Wait, that means that those from the sect who can go are limited too, right?”

“They will be limited, yes. It is unlikely anybody in the new faction you have been forming will go.” He was speaking of something Yu wasn’t really convinced deserved to be called a faction. It was more a group of friends, or at least like-minded people who hunted and trained together over the last seven or eight months.

Her master continued, “Even outside the sect, hard decisions will be made. As an example, the imperial nobles need to choose which of their promising brats to risk. Because it is a risk. Remember that there are no laws beyond that of power rules inside a spirit realm. Many who enter will die inside. To beasts and to each other. It is just a fact. You understand what that means?”

Yu exhaled slowly but nodded. “I’ll need to kill again.”

“Indeed you will. Without a doubt, you will kill more than one human if you wish to live long enough to exit the realm and reach your goals. Frankly, I have been disturbed by your reluctance to do so out here, so I am personally quite pleased. You will move beyond this weakness.”

Yu looked at him. She still struggled sometimes with what she had done to the Bao in the forest that day. She had not killed another since and had hoped – probably deceived herself into hoping – that she wouldn’t need to again. But inside, deep within herself, she knew the truth. An ugly and awful truth… she would eventually kill another human, spirit realm or no.

Sighing, Yu nodded, saying nothing.

“Good,” her master said without any sympathy at all. “On the positive side of things, you will have a lot more freedom to use stepping in the spirit realm. Your own voids are pathetically weak and will be inconsequential to greater realm stability, thus they should have no material impact on the realm itself.” Then he got a thoughtful look on his face and asked, “Let’s see. Was there anything else?” A few breaths later he said, “Oh, yes. Three things. First, deal with that knife already. Your power’s call is annoying.”

Yu froze. She had had no idea he knew about that. But he had only said, knife, not bracelet.

“What do you mean?” she asked tentatively.

“Oh, stop. Enough already. Bond with the thing and move on. You need to stop hiding from the call of your power. I won’t bring it up again.”

Still frozen, Yu had no idea how to respond. She… had been hiding from it… them.

Interesting that he only spoke of the knife, though.

“Second,” her master said, sounding annoyed. “I’ve been called to the site of the void for my opinion on its structure, so I may be gone for a bit. It’s a bother but it also isn’t worth the fight with our clan. Third, I will be letting it be known that I am forcing you into the spirit realm as a representative for our empire and I don’t care what anybody thinks or says. I will probably have to kill a bunch of people and a clan or six to do it and since nobody can fight me, they will almost certainly blame you. Obviously, their reach will be limited within the sect, so expect some elders to use disciples to let you know of their displeasure. I expect you can grow from those experiences. No need to thank me.”

And then she was back in her room.